Cardiologist Job Description

The Cardiologist specializes in the diagnosis, treatment and intervention of diseases pertaining to the heart. Many times they are referred to as a “Heart Specialist.”

Primary Responsibilities:

• The Cardiologist is highly specialized in cardiovascular treatment.
• The Cardiologist keeps and maintains good heart care for the patient.

The Cardiologist not only keeps and maintains good heart care for the patient but sometimes becomes a surgeon performing heart surgeries. Normally a Cardiologist will work in small offices or clinics. The Cardiologist usually maintains a small staff of nurses and administrative personnel.

Most of the patients are referrals from their attending physician who first recognize that a patient is having problems with their heart. The Cardiologist assists most patients in the hospital where expensive equipment is maintained to check a patient’s heart. The expensive equipment required for examination and testing is usually maintained by the hospital but the Cardiologist has full access. In this manner many Cardiologist can have access to the same equipment helping more people. This is an issue that the health care programs find to be less expensive to the patient. The Cardiologist prefers to have centers where they can maintain some of the equipment giving them unlimited access. There is often an influx of patients needing testing making it impossible at times for the Cardiologist to get access to the needed equipment when he needs to have it for a patient.

Cardiologist much like a physician must have formal education and training. The Cardiologist must have four years of undergraduate school, four years of medical school and three to eight years of internship and residency. In some medical schools both undergraduate and medical school programs are offered making the tenor of studies lasting only six years instead of the full eight years. Premedical students must complete certain courses of study along with their specialty courses. The courses that they are required to take are in physics, biology, mathematics, English and inorganic and organic chemistry. Premed students take courses in the humanities and the social sciences. While premed students are taking these courses they also volunteer at local hospitals or clinics in order to gain practical experience in the health professions. The Cardiologist must first become a physician then take accredited program in cardiology.

The Cardiologist is regulated in all fifty states and U.S. Territories by becoming credentialed and licensed in Cardiology. The Cardiologist must possess the right amount of training have a degree from an accredited school of medicine and have completed an accredited program of Cardiology. There is a national exam that the Cardiologist must pass before applying for licensure in the state of practice. After the Cardiologist has managed to complete all the things needed then he/she may set up office and begin practice. Most Cardiologist work very long, irregular hours, probably sixty hours or more a week but reap rewards that are well worth their efforts. Even though the Cardiologist must work a lot of hours the pay is one of the highest in the nation. The benefits are great and often job opportunities are great. Today it is very uncommon for Cardiologists to enter into solo practice normally they work in medical practice groups. In this manner they are paid a very high salary and the costly insure for malpractice suits.

Cardiologists believe in preventative medicines and procedures and try hard to get their patients to watch their diets, lose weight and do other protective things that will prevent heart attacks and strokes. There are many different ailments due to heart problems and if at all possible it is best to cure the problem or take preventative measures in order to prevent heart attacks. The problem is that many times people get to the Cardiologist when the problem is very severe and preventative medicines may not be an option. This is why many Cardiologists advance their careers and become heart surgeons. Surgery sometimes is the only preventative method of preventing a heart attack or stroke. In order to take these measures the patient must have had a serious of tests acknowledging what the real problem may be and what is the best solution. Open heart surgery is a very serious form of surgery and it takes a specialist who deals in this type of surgery to be able to successfully operate on a patient. The Cardiologist is very important in the medical field saving many lives.

Degrees and Training to Become a Cardiologist

• Medical and Health Degree

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